Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton has apologised “unreservedly” for the way a controversial visit from Nigel Farage to the club’s stadium was handled this week.
It comes after the Reform leader, and Clacton MP, was photographed on Monday holding up Ipswich shirts with ‘Farage 10’ on the back in the Portman Road dressing room.
A party campaign video, narrated and starring Farage, was also filmed at the ground.
The release of the content sparked an angry response from some supporters on social media, with Ashton admitting in an in-house club interview released on Friday evening that the visit had caused “harm and distress”.
“The staff are hurting, elements of the fanbase are hurting, and so are elements of our local community – and that upsets me immensely,” said Ashton.
“For that, I want to unreservedly apologise and say I’m sorry.”
Ashton, who is also the club’s Chief Executive, went on to say that “lessons had been learned” from the visit – but also suggested that there were a “lot of mistruths out there” about how it materialised.
The Championship club, who are fighting for promotion to the Premier League, had originally insisted in a statement released earlier this week that it was “apolitical”.
Farage was pictured holding up an Ipswich Town shirt during his visit. Credit: Reform UK
However, a report in The Athletic suggested that they’d seen proof that Farage had been invited and had received the shirts as gifts – an accusation Ipswich haven’t commented on.
Members of the local media called for the club to say sorry – with the East Anglian Daily Times calling for a club apology.
“One wonders how the club’s sponsors – many emblazoned on the advertising board behind him – felt about being associated with a man as divisive as Farage,” the article read.
“Or how the club’s players and staff felt when they saw a politician linked with allegations of racism, homophobia and misogyny holding their famous shirt aloft.”
With the club pushing for an immediate return to the top flight, Ashton said he hoped his intervention would lead to unity for the remaining weeks of the season, and a line could be drawn under the incident.
“There’s lots to fight for on and off the pitch as we move forward, and I feel that we’ve always been better when we do that as one,” he said.
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